The last freely elected prime minister met the elections in prison; his party was effectively banned. Despite such conditions, he and his party received the most votes in the elections.
However, despite the victory, his chances of becoming prime minister are slim. The preparations for the elections were extremely difficult. All social media and mobile phones were turned off. The PTI party itself was banned and its candidates went individually. Even the party symbol was banned - and this creates problems in a country where literacy is low.